


Uncovered

by dearfudgemuffins



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-23
Updated: 2017-09-14
Packaged: 2018-11-04 05:07:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10983990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dearfudgemuffins/pseuds/dearfudgemuffins
Summary: Theo Raeken, a murderer and a good for nothing chimera. That's what everyone thought about him. But when he came back from hell, he was different. He was panicked and scared and all he wanted was to be safe and just not to end up in hell again. But Liam Dunbar was the only one to see that. Liam was the only one who understood Theo, the only one who wanted to help him.





	1. Chapter 1

Theo was tired. He felt like hell and his wounds were healing slower than usual, causing him discomfort. Theo surpressed any noises of pain but couldn't stop his chest from heaving from all the physical and mental strain he had been through that day. He had been tensed up since he'd come back from hell, always keeping a defensive stance, alert at all moments.

  
But now, Theo was done fighting, done running. The Ghost Riders were gone and Theo could finally relax. His entire body fell in visible relief at this thought. He had not stopped since he got back. It was all fighting, panic and pain.

  
Theo stood silently in the dark, watching as the pack hugged each other, relieved that the Ghost Riders were gone. They all stood around Stiles, catching up. Theo felt uncomfortable and alone. He knew no one would hug him, no one would be relieved he was alive and well. So, he stepped away, going to leave.

  
"Where are you going?" Scott called, his voice echoed through the forest. Theo flinched at the power emitting from the Alpha, slowly turning to face him.

  
Theo said nothing, did nothing. He shrunk under the pack's gaze, gulping nervously. He didn't know where he was going or what he planned to do. He had just wanted to get away from the pack who wanted nothing to do with him. Theo looked out into the dark forest, eyeing it with uncertainty.

  
"Theo?" Scott's voice echoed in Theo's head.

  
Theo suddenly felt a wave of overwhelming defeat. He couldn't do anything, couldn't even make decisions for himself anymore. Theo felt helpless and used. Ever since he'd come back from hell, the pack had dragged him around, bargained and begged him to do things he didn't want to do. They'd even hurt him-not like they knew that, of course. For them, Theo was a disgrace, he had little to no use, he didn't deserve to be in this world. He finally understood how they felt to what he had done to them. He felt the pain they had went through, the misery going on in his mind.

  
Theo started to tremble at his thoughts. He frowned in confusion when he suddenly felt lightheaded and nauseous. His eyes filled with tears and his bottom lip started to quiver.

  
"Theo, what's wrong?" Scott asked in worry as he sensed Theo's emotions. Theo turned his back to the pack, as Scott took a few steps towards him. Theo tensed, his entire body quaking.

  
Theo closed his eyes, breathing in deeply. He let his shoulders drop and opened his eyes. He turned to face Scott, his face void of emotion.

“I'm fine, Scott.” Theo said calmly. Scott frowned at Theo's sudden change in behaviour.

  
“I'm fine.” Theo repeated.

 

His eyes deceived his words.

* * *

 

Theo was dragged inside.

  
He had been sitting in the car, looking outside, stiff in his seat. His wounds stung, although he didn't let it show. He sat in silence, not daring to move or say anything. Theo didn't know how long he'd been in the car, how long it took to get to Scott's house. One minute they were in the woods and the next, they were at the McCall household.

  
Malia had been sitting in the passenger seat trying not to kill Theo. She hated him with a passion and she didn't think that would ever go away. When they got to Scott's house, they had all gotten out, but Theo stayed inside, not moving, barely even blinking. He seemed to be in a trance. Malia had growled, annoyed with his constant change in behaviour in the last few hours.

  
She stormed to his door, ripped it open and yanked Theo out by his arm. Her claws dug into Theo's arm, dragging him towards the door. Theo winced in pain,  but said nothing. He let Malia drag him in the McCall house and push him on the couch. The others followed her inside, cringing at Malia's actions.

  
Malia growled at Theo when he looked as if he was getting off the couch. Theo raised his hands in defense, a quick flash of fear passing through his eyes. He had simply shifted from the uncomfortable stance he had landed in when Malia had pushed him.

  
The pack and Theo stood- sat in Theo's case- silently. The silence was short-lived, as Scott coughed awkwardly.

  
“Uh, guys, a word in the kitchen?” Scott said to his pack, gesturing towards the room. They nodded, following him into the kitchen.

  
Malia stayed back looking at Theo with an intimidating look. “Don't you even think about going anywhere,” she growled menacingly at him.

  
Theo looked down. “Got it,” he said quietly. Malia huffed, still a bit unconvinced, but nonetheless, joined the others in the kitchen.

  
In the kitchen, the pack stood huddled around the table.

  
“So,” Scott said with fake enthusiasm, “What exactly do we do with Theo?”

  
“Can't we just put him back into the ground?” Lydia asked as if it was obvious.

  
“Uh, about that...” Liam said awkwardly. “I, uh, might've... broken the sword.”

  
“What?!” The pack exploded. They began to all talk at once, arguing with each other and yelling at Liam for what he did.

  
“Shut up!” Malia yelled and everyone quieted down, not wanting to get on Malia's bad side.

  
“Liam, why the hell would you do that?” Stiles said, his arms flailing with frustration.

  
“We needed his help. He wouldn't help us if I didn't break it. Stiles wouldn't be here if I hadn't. None of us would be here if he hadn't helped us.” Liam said desperately trying to get his pack to understand. ”I'm sorry.”

  
“It's alright, Liam. You did what you had to do to help us.” Scott reassured his beta, understanding what he had done. “We just need to figure out what to do with him now.”

  
The pack stood silently, thinking. It was a bit difficult for adolescents to try to figure out what to do with a chimera murderer.

  
“Put him in prison?” Stiles suggested.

  
“He might hurt someone with his abilities.” Hayden butted in.

  
“We could chain him up in an abandoned building and leave him for dead?” Malia suggested, highly satisfied with her answer.

  
Everyone disagreed with her immediately, each sharing an outspoken 'no!'. They were baffled that Malia still suggested things like this after the many times they had shot down her crazy coyote behaviour inspired ideas.

  
“He deserves to die,” Malia argued. “Did you guys forget about all the people he killed?”

  
“He's changed,” Liam argued back. “I'm not saying I've forgiven him, but he saved me instead of himself. He wanted to help us even when he was scared. He saved us all.”  
Liam had seen the change in Theo. He wanted the pack to understand Theo as he had learned to in the last few days.

  
“You're talking about him like he's a saint,” Malia scoffed, not believing the beta was actually standing up for the murderer.

  
“He isn't. I'm just saying... Theo acted unselfishly. He knew there was nothing for him in the end if he helped us.” Liam told them from his experience of how Theo acted since he came back. Liam felt like he understood Theo better than anyone else, although, no one really knew anything about Theo. He was so closed in, he never shared anything, just avoided everything and lied to everyone.

  
“So where do you suggest we put him?” Mason asked, stuck to Corey's side.

  
“What about Eichen?” Lydia asked. Everyone turned to her. “It's a kinder fate. He won't be able to hurt anyone.”

  
“Uh, I don't know. It's a-a little messed up there,” Stiles said, grimacing from memory. "Can't imagine how it is for the supernatural in there."

  
“Stiles is right. Nothing good has ever happened there.” Scott said stiffly.

  
“Maybe we should just let him do what he wants.” Liam suggested. Everyone immediately regarded him with an 'are-you-insane' look. “I know it's crazy... but what else is he going to do? He has no one anymore. He doesn't seem like he wants to kill any of us anymore. Besides,” Liam said. “He's changed since he came back. He's different.”

  
Everyone frowned. They hadn't noticed anything different with Theo except for his odd behaviour earlier.

  
“You didn't spend as much time with him than I did. He's quieter, he radiates of fear, he panics over everything, he fidgets constantly and his eyes are laced with so many emotions it's hard to look into them for long. The list goes on.” Liam said quietly, feeling sorry for Theo.

  
He realized as he voiced this out that he hadn't thought in detail about these things until now. He had to push those lingering thoughts away because there were more important things to think about at the time. But now, everything was okay again and he could now think about the troubled chimera.

  
Liam could finally think of all the pain and fear that was evident in Theo's wide eyes.

  
“He's broken.” Liam stated simply, frowning in sadness at the thought. He looked up at the pack, clearing his mind from the emotions. “I don't think he'll do anything. I suggest we let him be free. If he does something, we figure out what to do with him then and it'll be on me.”

  
“Are we actually considering that option?” Stiles exclaimed in disbelief as the pack said nothing after Liam's speech.

  
“Well, Liam has a point. And I trust him. So, if he says that we should trust Theo, then I say we do. “ Scott said with authority. “But don't forget Liam, if this backfires, it's on you.”  
Liam nodded at his Alpha, understanding his duty.

  
“Alright,” Scott sighed, heading back to the living room.

  
The pack shared looks with each other and a few seconds later, followed after their Alpha. They found Scott standing before the couch, frozen.

  
“Scott?” Stiles asked warily.

  
Scott turned to face his pack with an unreadable expression on his face. He stepped aside, allowing his pack to see what he'd been looking at.

  
Everyone was taken aback. An innocent adolescent boy sleeping on the couch. That's what it would look like to anyone who didn't know him. But for the pack, they wondered how this boy, Theo Raeken, a murderer, a sin, a broken shell, could look so innocent. For the first time since they had met Theo, he looked calm, peaceful, non murderous.

  
They were confused why Theo, a person so closed off from the world, was allowing them to see him in such a vulnerable state. It was like he _trusted them_.

 

They all looked at the sleeping figure, uncovering a side of Theo they had never seen before.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Liam frowned. He was not cut out for this. He was beyond confused with what sat before him. Which should he pick?

Liam jumped, snapping out of his trance as a ringing phone was heard in the middle of the grocery store. He tore his gaze away from the confusing arrangement of tomato pastes as he tried to fish out his phone out of his pocket. An old lady gave him a nasty look from down the aisle and he gave her a nervous smile, finally managing to take out his phone. He pressed answer, seeing it was Scott.

"Hello?" Liam answered.

"Hey, Liam," Scott greeted.

"Uh, what's up?" Liam asked, pursing his lips.

"Just checkin' up on you guys," Scott replied casually.

Liam dropped his head, trying not to groan out loud. It had been the 4th time Scott had called him in the last week. He'd been constantly checking up on them, asking if anything had happened, if they were alright, etc. Scott had left for college and therefore was far away from his pack and was constantly worried. Liam didn't want to say it bothered him, he understood why Scott had been calling so often, but Liam may be  _lightly_ annoyed by all the calls. 

"We're, uh, still doing fine, since the last time you called. Which was, uh, _yesterday_." Liam said, shifting on his feet awkwardly.

"Right. Um, sorry about calling so often I just-"

"Scott, it's fine. I understand." Liam reassured his Alpha. It was true, it was totally normal to worry about your pack members. They all felt the emptiness since Scott, Stiles, Lydia and Malia had gone off to college. It was hard not to worry about a pack member that was thousands of miles away.

"Yeah. Okay, um, you'll call me if anything happens?" Scott asked Liam with a hopeful tone.

Liam nodded his head, although Scott couldn't see him. "Yeah, of course."

"Thank you, Liam." Scott said in a grateful tone. He was happy that the youngest pack members had Liam to somewhat lead them on. "Well, I'll let you go. I'll try not to call for a couple days," Scott chuckled.

Liam smiled at the sound, letting out a breathy laugh in return. "It's alright, Scott. I'll talk to you in a few days, okay?"

"Yeah, see you then. Bye, Liam."

"Bye, Scott." Liam hung up the phone, shoving it back in his pocket.

Liam stood before the tomato pastes once again for a few seconds before groaning and picking the cheapest one. He didn't know the difference between these things. He turned around, heading down the aisle to find the rest of the things on the grocery list his mother had given him.

He went down another aisle to get pasta, once again very confused on what to get. Why was there so much pasta? Liam looked around the aisle, _lost as hell_. He frowned seeing a familiar figure standing near him. Liam's heightened senses kicked in and he smelled something- or well, _someone_ \- familiar. _Theo Raeken._

Liam stared at Theo for a moment, confused on why Theo was here. Then he remembered they were in a grocery store and that even _psycho Theo_ had to eat to stay alive. Theo seemed to be in a trance, unmoving. He stood frozen, staring at the shelf of food, a grocery basket at his feet. He was wearing baggy sweat pants and a sweatshirt, the hood pulled up over his head. Liam couldn't see his face since it was covered by his unkempt hair. This surprised Liam because he had never seen Theo so _un-styled_. Theo had always worn clothes that showed off his muscles and always styled his hair to perfection. Seeing this change in Theo disorientated Liam in a way.

Liam hadn't noticed while he was thinking and well, staring at Theo, that his body had moved closer to the chimera. Theo turned his head slightly towards Liam as if he sensed the Beta close to him, but did not do anything else.

No one had heard of Theo since the night they had defeated the Ghost Riders and they had all just assumed he'd run out of Beacon Hills. Liam wondered why Theo was still here. He had no friends here, no family, no home. Nothing good had happened to him in Beacon Hills, so _why would he stay?_

"Uh, Theo?" Liam asked hesitantly. He wanted to hit himself. Why had he spoken to him? What would he say now?

The chimera's head snapped to the side, looking at Liam with wide eyes. He'd been in deep thought about something which he couldn't remember now. Theo frowned and for a minute was confused as to where he was. He looked around and remembered that he hadn't eaten in a few days and there was no more food in his apartment, so he had headed out grudgingly to the grocery store.

Liam was speechless. All he could do was gape at Theo. He looked so different. He had bags under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept in weeks, his eyes were dull, no longer glinting with arrogance and his famous smirk was gone, replaced by a sad frown. Theo's hair was greasy and messy, falling over his eyes and his face was unhealthily pale. It was odd for Liam to see Theo like this. It surprised him how an evil chimera that wanted nothing but pain had been changed so much by a quick trip in hell. Then again, Liam didn't know what Theo had been through in the ground. He didn't know the horrors Theo had faced that had changed him forever.

"What- what's wrong with you?" Liam blurted out, dumbfounded by this 'new' Theo. He regretted his words instantly. "I mean- no! That's not what- I wasn't... Um..." Liam stuttered out, flushing, not sure what he wanted to say.

Theo was too tired to be offended by Liam's abrupt question. He simply frowned at the beta. "There's-" Theo attempted to say, but his voice was weak and was barely heard. He cleared his throat and tried again. "There's nothing... nothing wrong with me, Liam." Theo croaked out, refusing to look at Liam in the eyes.

Theo had only just realized how long it had been since he'd talked. He hadn't uttered a word in over a month.

"Uh, why are you here?" Liam asked, dumbly. Theo raised his eyebrows weakly at his question, giving him a mix of a blank face and an are-you-serious face. "Right, sorry, stupid question." _God_ , Liam internally groaned, _why did he keep blurting out everything?_

"I, uh, meant... What are you doing here? As in, Beacon Hills." Liam said, finally managing a proper sentence.

"Where else am I supposed to go?" Theo asked bitterly, although he still sounded very weak.

Theo didn't have any friends or family, nor a home. Beacon Hills was familiar to him and was the only place that could somewhat feel like home to him.

"I don't know!" Liam exclaimed.

"Exactly. You think you know me but you don't. I'm not your responsibility, so stop trying to care for me. I've never had anyone and I sure as hell don't need anyone now. Leave me alone, Liam." Theo snarled at Liam.

Theo felt angered and panicked over this encounter. He suddenly just really wanted to _get out_. Theo pushed passed Liam, walking quickly to the exit, leaving Liam staring at Theo's back in confusion. Liam turned back when Theo disappeared out of sight. Liam was about to continue his search for the rest of the items on the list, when he noticed Theo's abandoned basket.

Liam felt bad now. He had pushed Theo to leave the store without buying his food. Liam groaned when he felt overwhelmed by guilt. He quickly picked up Theo's basket, his feelings effecting his actions.


	3. Chapter 3

Theo stared blankly at one of the walls of his apartment. It was deadly silent, except for the sound of Theo's rumbling stomach cutting through the quietness occasionally. He regretted running out of the grocery store without buying anything. He hadn't eaten in a few days already because he didn't have the appetite for anything and now, his body was demanding to be fed. Why did Liam _have_ to show up and confront him? He shouldn't have let Liam get to him so easily. But there was just something about Liam that made Theo act so differently.

Theo frowned miserably. He didn't know how he was supposed to feel about Liam. For Theo, Liam was like an enigma. He was difficult to understand and he always got so overcome by his emotions. It didn't seem like Liam could make a decision based on the pros and cons, only by how he was feeling at a specific moment. But for Theo, he always had thought out plans, which were always arranged in advance. Theo have never really relied on his emotions before. He and Liam were so different, but they couldn't deny that feeling they got when they were together. A feeling that outrageously confused both of them but also made them feel _incredible_.

Theo's perplexing thoughts were interrupted by a knock at his door. Theo looked at the door, alert. No one knew where he lived, so who could it be? Theo stood up from the couch cautiously, walking quietly to the door. He unlocked his door silently and held onto the doorknob, preparing to open the door. Theo jumped as another knock sounded, startling him. He breathed in deeply, trying to calm down and opened the door, facing the person on the other side.

Theo's eyebrows rose in surprise, seeing Liam stand awkwardly in the hallway of his apartment building, holding a grocery bag.

"What are you doing here, Liam?" Theo asked Liam. Theo couldn't think of any reason the Beta would be here. Unless the McCall pack had gotten into another _supernatural jiffy_ , which honestly wouldn't surprise Theo.

Liam gaped at Theo, seeming speechless. Liam stood staring at him before blurting out the only thing he could. "Groceries?" Liam said, holding up the bag he had in his hand.

Theo looked at Liam unimpressed. As if 'groceries?' would help Theo figure out what Liam was doing here. It seemed to him that even Liam was quite baffled by why he was here.

"Uh... Yours. Your groceries..."  Liam trailed off. Liam felt exasperated, he didn't really know what he was saying anymore. Why was he always so speechless around Theo?

Theo was still confused by Liam's visit. Did Liam mean he had bought Theo's abandoned groceries?

Liam took a deep breath, attempting to calm down. "You left them and so I thought that you probably needed them cause even delightfully weird and evil chimeras need food. So I bought them for you and you know... Came here to bring them to you." Liam ranted quickly, holding his breath, waiting for Theo's reaction.

Theo was quite frankly dumbfounded. Why would Liam do that for him? He had expressed many times his dislike for Theo, but now he was being nice and buying him food and acting like he cared for Theo.

"Uh, thanks." Was all Theo could say in his stupor.

Liam held out the grocery bag to Theo, who grabbed it, no saying another word. They both stood for an awkward moment, not saying or doing anything.

"I should... Go," Liam said, pointing down the hallway, already turning to leave. This whole entire encounter had been really awkward for the both of them and Liam just wanted to leave.

"Wait." Theo said, causing Liam to stop and to turn back to Theo. "How did you know where I live?"

"I just followed your scent." Liam said, as if it was nothing. However, this intrigued Theo, since Liam had nothing of his to track him down with. _Had Liam perhaps memorized the way Theo smelled?_ Theo quickly dismissed that thought.

Theo nodded numbly at Liam's response, choosing not to say anything. Liam went to continue his leave when Theo stopped him once again.

"Liam." Liam turned to face Theo once more. Theo looked at Liam in the eyes, sending him a grateful look. "Thank you." Theo said sincerely.

Theo said nothing more and neither did Liam. But they both felt that feeling, that _incredible feeling._ They had shared a genuine moment, even if it had reeked of awkwardness. Liam understood that Theo was broken and he needed to help him, one problematic step at a time. After all, real life wasn't perfect and Theo and Liam surely weren't perfect either.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this is literally the worst thing ever, I happen to be writing this at 2:00 AM.   
> Also, I'm very sorry that this is super short and awkward, but I kind of felt like this had to happen. They shared an actual real life moment, without being like 'dramatized'. Real emotions were shared here. Not all relationships start out steady. This is a relationship that is starting out rocky and together (and with their gay powers), they figure out how to become a steady and happy couple. 
> 
> (Sorry if this or the chapter didn't make sense, but in my 2:00-3:00 AM madness, this is how I felt like writing this)
> 
> Also, please don't kill me for terrible writing I'm trying lmaooo


	4. Chapter 4

It was a wonderful summer day. The sun was shining, casting light and warmth across Beacon Hills and the birds were singing beautiful songs in the joy of the summer. These small optimistic things inspired a _way_ too cheerful Hayden Romero to drag her non-excited friends to the park. Liam wouldn't usually mind his girlfriend dragging him out to do things instead of staying inside all day, but today it just felt _wrong_ to be with her. Liam kept being nagged by a sensation of dread every time he looked at Hayden. He felt guilty and he couldn't help feeling that he was casting a shadow in Hayden's world of light.

Liam's head was spinning with so many different thoughts in the last week. But somehow, his mind always brought him back to the thought of Theo. Liam was still immensely confused by the chimera. He had went from snapping at Liam to thanking him genuinely- which was a shock- in the span of a few hours. Liam kept replaying their encounters in his head over and over and over. His mind wouldn't stop racing with thoughts of Theo.

"Liam! Are you even listening to me?" Hayden's voice interrupted Liam's thoughts.

Liam was sucked out of his trance and was once again in the real world. He turned to look at Hayden, seeing her looking at him expectantly, one eyebrow raised. Mason and Corey sat behind them, glued together, not saying a word.

"Uh, yeah..." Liam said. Hayden immediately gave Liam a glare, meaning she knew he had lied. "I mean, no. Sorry, Hayden," Liam corrected himself. He tried to give Hayden a cute apologetic smile that Hayden usually couldn't resist. She would usually just laugh at his cuteness and proceed to repeat what she had said. But today, she simply rolled her eyes at his response and looked away, fuming.

"Hayden, I'm sorry. I just have a lot on my mind." Liam pleaded, trying to make her feel better. He didn't say it with much emotion, as he felt he didn't need to do this. For some reason Liam just felt like letting her do what she wanted. He felt like he couldn't really care less what Hayden thought about him at this moment and that he didn't need to apologize to her. He felt like he shouldn't be here with her and that instead he should be somewhere else, with a different person. Liam was surprised by these feelings. He truly did care for Hayden and he was amazed that a side of him was so selfish and cruel towards her. Liam repressed those feelings and attempted to make Hayden understand him (although he didn't try very hard).

Hayden sighed. She truly couldn't be mad at Liam for very long. "It's fine, Liam. Just don't do it again." Hayden attempted to joke, throwing Liam a grin. He gave her a small confused smile in return, wondering why she had forgiven him so easily.

"So, uh, what were you saying?" Liam asked, trying to please her.

"Okay, so guess who I saw the other day," Hayden said with excitement, practically bouncing up and down. "Theo," Hayden quickly said, leaving Liam no time to guess. She looked at him closely, waiting for his reaction, but she frowned when there was none. "Seriously, Liam? I saw _Theo Raeken_ walking down the street the other day."

Liam frowned back at Hayden. He was confused why she was acting like Theo was a celebrity. Liam didn't understand her excitement, it was _just Theo_. Then again, he had a different opinion of Theo. The others thought he was insane, while Liam thought Theo was broken and just needed to be put together again. Liam tried to look past Theo's mistakes- although they still bothered him- and he tried to help Theo, while the others made him break more.

"C'mon, dude. Evil, psychotic, murdering chimera? Ringing any bells?" Mason said from behind them, in disbelief that Liam hadn't had a reaction.

"I know who Theo is," Liam snapped at them, having a moment of anger. "I just don't understand why you guys are so excited about that."

"C'mon," Mason said again. "We told him to leave. He's still here."

"So? He isn't bothering us. He's just sitting in his apartment starving himself." Liam said viciously, standing up. His emotions were going haywire and he didn't know why. He felt like he couldn't control himself anymore.

Hayden and Mason looked at him, speechless. They were so baffled by Liam's emotions recently, especially the ones towards Theo.

"How do you know that?" Corey asked Liam, standing up too, seeing as he was the only one who wasn't immensely shocked at Liam.

"Know what?" Liam asked, turning to look at Corey with an intense glare, not noticing his slip up.

"That Theo's starving himself. Is that just an educated guess, or do you have something you want to share with the rest of your _pack_?" Corey said bitterly, defying Liam, staring him down.

Liam said nothing, but he refused to back down from Corey's stare. He felt angry at not only himself, but everyone else. His emotions were out of control lately and as much as Liam had tried to restrain them, he couldn't. He felt like everyone was taking something away from him, something Liam _needed_. And he was not going to back down until he got it.

"Corey," Mason said, finally breaking from his shock, standing up. Corey broke away from Liam's gaze, turning to look at Mason, who shook his head, silently telling Corey not to challenge Liam. They all knew how short tempered and dominant Liam was over what was his.

"Liam," Hayden whispered, standing up cautiously, looking around quickly to make sure no one was around. She was quite frankly scared by how Liam was acting. "Calm down."

Liam stared them all down, his chest heaving in anger. His eyes flashed gold and his appearance became more wolf-like, his claws and fangs coming out.  

Hayden, Mason and Corey flinched at the power in Liam's voice. They were all scared, they had never seen Liam behave like this.

Liam growled ferociously, getting close to them.

In a moment of pure fright, Hayden pushed Liam away with as much force as she could, sending him flying to the ground and onto his back. Liam was surprised by her act and quickly forgot about his anger, his features shifting back to normal. Liam stayed on the ground, stunned with what just happened. He had felt like a completely different person in that moment. Hayden stepped closer to Liam hesitantly.

"Liam?" She asked unsure if he was back from whatever the hell that was.

"What just happened?" Liam whispered, frozen in his position on the ground.

Hayden shrugged and looked at Liam, worried. She didn't move any further to comfort Liam, as she was still afraid he was going to lash out at them again. He looked like a lost puppy, but she didn't care. She would not let his looks deceive her again.

Liam breathed in deeply, trying not to panic. He had gotten so mad at his friends that he had yelled at them. Why had he done that? Liam didn't mean to get so carried away by his emotions but, he just felt so _lost_. There was a feeling of emptiness in him and it angered him so much. He just wanted to be whole again. Liam yearned for that missing piece, he _needed_ it.

Liam exhaled, forcing his anger to leave his body. He moved to get up, but stopped seeing that Hayden had backed away from his reach as soon as he had moved. Liam's heart pinched with pain. He hadn't meant to scare his friends so much. Liam stood up, seeing his friends watching him attentively, ready for any unexpected movements. Liam looked at them with such regret in his eyes, but knew there was nothing he could do to reassure them in this moment.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me," Liam told them quietly, not wanting to startle them any further. He turned to leave, whispering another apology to them.

Liam ducked his head down, walking away from his friends. His mind was racing and he could barely keep up with any of his thoughts. Why had he reacted that way to what they were saying? Who was the missing piece in Liam's heart? Liam felt dizzy as his mind spun as questions were spewed at him uncontrollably.

Liam left the park, walking with no destination in mind, his head clouded with unanswered questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this is so angry and angsty, but a lot of stuff is happening and I'm literally mad at everyone, which definitely reflected onto Liam... whoops.
> 
> Also, I'm seriously rethinking the title cause it sucks real bad lmaoo.
> 
> (I don't know what I'm writing anymore soooorry I'm a mess)


	5. Chapter 5

Liam walked aimlessly in the streets of Beacon Hills after his scene in the park. He was so angry at himself for the way he acted around his friends. They didn't deserve to have been yelled at, especially by him. He felt so horrible for what he had done and he badly wanted to apologize, but he knew it wasn't the right time to do so. He knew they all needed to take a break to recover from his freak-out.

 

Liam walked with his head down, not paying attention to where he was walking. He was zoned out, immersed completely in his thoughts. He hadn't even noticed he had walked into the Beacon Hills preserve until he finally looked up. Liam's senses came into focus and it was only then that he finally noticed the crunching dead leaves beneath his shoes, the sound of birds chirping and the winds rustling through the trees.

 

He looked around him and surprisingly found that his surroundings looked familiar. Sure, the forest kind of looked all the same, but there was just something he felt like he recognized. He couldn't shake the feeling that he'd been to this particular place before. He frowned, thinking, while he advanced through the trees, trying to figure out why he recognized this place.

 

The werewolf perked up when he heard the sound of running water. Maybe that could give him a clue to why he felt like he'd been here before. Liam walked further into the forest, trying to find the source of it. After a few minutes, he finally noticed a stream. It was when he trudged closer to the creek and he saw a small bridge crossing over it, that he finally realized where he was. Liam stopped in his tracks when he also noticed a certain chimera sitting on that said bridge, his legs dangling from the side. _How did Liam keep finding Theo wherever he went?_

 

A powerful wall of emotions suddenly slammed into Liam. He stumbled, shocked at how strong it was, especially since it was coming from Theo. Liam was surprised he could feel Theo's intense emotions from where he was standing. Liam's frown deepened when he identified Theo's emotions: sadness, guilt and shame.

 

Liam thought back to the first time they had been here and wondered if Theo truly felt bad for killing Tara or if it was all an act again. Liam shook his head in dismissal, there was no way Theo could conjure up so much emotion for a simple trick. Besides, Theo thought he was alone, therefore he had no one to mess with. His emotions had to be genuine.

 

Suddenly, Liam realized he was invading Theo's personal space and time. He felt bad for snooping on him at a vulnerable time- although not intentionally- and decided it would be best to leave him alone. He went to turn around, but he hadn't paid much attention to be cautious and stepped on a branch that snapped loudly. Liam cursed and turned around to see if Theo had noticed.

 

Theo was looking straight at Liam. _Of course he'd notice, he has super hearing_ , Liam cursed at himself again.

 

“Liam?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took literally a month to update. I've been going through stuff and I had like no ideas for the next chapter. But, here's an update! Sorry it's bad and short and leaves on a cliffhanger, but it's all I have for now. I've been trying to think of what else to write about but all I come up with are blanks. So if you'd like to suggest ideas on how you'd like this story to go, I'd be immensely thankful.


	6. Chapter 6

It was funny, just this morning, Theo had wondered how his life could get any worse at this point. He'd been sitting in the middle of mounds of blankets and food wrappers and as he sat there, feeling utterly disgusting, he'd realized he had let his life go to _absolute shit_. He was at the lowest of lows. How _could_ his life get any worse? Well now, he had gotten his answer. This. This moment was how it could get worse.

 

“Liam?”

 

Theo had said it so lowly, that made Liam think for a second that Theo was talking to himself. However, Theo remembered- unlike Liam- that they both had super hearing, so he damn well knew Liam could hear him, even if he had spoken softly.

 

Liam pursed his lips, knowing he couldn't back out of this one. He walked awkwardly towards Theo, who kept staring at him until he reached the end of the bridge. Liam noticed Theo's overwhelming emotions had dispersed drastically since he'd approached him and were now replaced with a confusing array of other feelings Liam couldn't quite place.

 

“Liam,” Theo said again, but this time as a statement, as if he hadn't believed that Liam had been there at first, _but now_ , Theo couldn't deny it. He was here. Liam was _actually here_ , standing in front of him. _Again_.

 

“Uh, hey, Theo... Look-”

 

“Why are you here?” Theo cut off Liam off, standing up to face the werewolf.

 

“I was just walking, I didn't mean to- I didn't know you'd be here...” Liam trailed off. He didn't really know what to say. Liam knew Theo wouldn't really believe the truth, as it was a little far fetched.

 

In these last few days, Liam had always ended up finding Theo, wherever he was, and Theo was _seriously_ starting to question how. It vexed him to no end the first couple of times but now, here was Liam for like the fourth time that week, claiming he'd just _happen to stumble upon Theo_.

 

“You didn't know I'd be here?” Theo echoed, his anger starting to rise. He had enough with Liam intruding on him while he was in a vulnerable state. He just wanted to be left alone. “Why would you have come here in the first place?”

 

Liam started to become nervous as Theo's voice began to rise more and more. “I- I don't know! I was just walking and next thing I knew, I was here.”

 

Theo let out a disbelieving noise, his face void of emotion. “You actually want me to believe your subconscious brought you to me?” Theo asked Liam bitterly, quirking an eyebrow at him.

 

“Uh... yes?” Liam said, unsure.

 

Theo ran a hand over his face as he sighed, completely exasperated with Liam. This boy could _not_ make up his mind. It was so frustrating.

 

“Yes,” Liam said more firmly.

 

Theo was actually surprised by this and he looked at Liam with both eyebrows raised, kind of impressed by the werewolf for a second. Theo laughed sharply, shaking his head.

 

“God, Liam, you're so frustrating!” Theo exclaimed, his hands moving frantically, trying to demonstrate exactly how infuriating Liam made Theo feel.

 

“Sorry?” Was all Liam could reply, shrugging halfheartedly, which made Theo feel even more irked by him. _No_ , Theo realized, _he was frustrated at how Liam made him feel_.

 

Theo felt defeated. He couldn't even be mad at Liam for more than two minutes. _What was wrong with him?_ Why did he feel so much when he was with Liam? Or even just when thinking about him?

 

Suddenly, a thought passed through Theo's head that made him stop. Stop trying to be mad at Liam over nothing and to stop lying to himself. Theo realized that maybe he wasn't actually mad at Liam, but at _himself_. Being around Liam confused Theo to no end, no wonder he hadn't realized this earlier.

 

Theo had just been so alone for most of his life and lately, it had become so much worse. He was mad that he'd been pushing Liam away, the only person who made an effort to talk to him. All the young werewolf was trying to do was help Theo.

 

This horrible moment revealed everything. Theo knew the only person who could help him get better was Liam. Theo knew he would need to let him in his life.

 

Theo knew he had to let Liam uncover everything about him.

 

And honestly? This scared Theo _. A lot._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This probably wasn't what you were guys were waiting for, but I'm not good at writing fight scenes, so I went with Theo having mood swings cause why not. Anywaysss, hope you guys don't hate this, feedback would be super appreciated cause I love hearing what you guys think!


	7. Chapter 7

“Liam,” Theo said for the third time that day.

 

“Theo,” Liam replied.

 

Theo gave him an unimpressed look but all Liam did was grin cheekily back at him. Theo rolled his eyes and looked back at the creek, trying to suppress a smile.

 

Liam was honestly so confused right now, although he didn't let it show. Theo's emotions were all over the place. He had went to silently wallowing in his pain, to basically yelling at Liam and then now, he was calm. Liam wondered what Theo had been thinking about to bring him such distress. Liam guessed that Theo was probably way more confused than Liam was right now. So, he said nothing. All Liam could care about right now was that Theo was relaxed.

 

The pair sat on the side of the bridge, their legs hanging from the side, over the creek. Theo had just been so overwhelmed by his newfound knowledge, that he had just sat down, saying nothing else about the dispute they'd been having. Liam had said nothing about it either, since Theo looked pretty shocked and decided to just sit down besides the confused chimera. He knew Theo had been trying to figure things out recently and he thought that Theo's odd mood swings were probably some sort of side effect from it.

 

“I'm sorry,” Theo mumbled to Liam.

 

Liam turned to look at Theo, who did not look at him back. “It's alright, Theo,” Liam said, giving Theo a small smile.

 

“No, it's not. I just _yelled_ at you...”

 

“And? I told you it's fine. I know you didn't mean it. Besides, I'm the one who should be sorry. I intruded on your privacy. Three times, might I add,” Liam chuckled.

 

Theo smiled. Liam was so surprised, it took his breath away. He had never seen Theo look so genuine, with his hair down, wearing sweats, with a  _real smile_ . Liam realized he had never seen Theo actually smile until now. He had seen him smirk and grin, but this way different. It absolutely captivated Liam and he could  _not_ stop staring at Theo.

 

Theo looked at Liam and noticed the werewolf had already been staring at him.

 

“What are you looking at?” Theo asked Liam playfully, raising an eyebrow at him.

 

“You,” Liam replied calmly, looking into Theo's eyes with such warmth.

 

Theo's smile wavered at Liam's reply and he began to frown in confusion. It was then Liam realized what he had said and in what tone he had said it.

 

“N-no! I didn't mean... That wasn't, uh...” Liam stuttered, panicking. “I wasn't like, hitting on you, I was just...”

 

“ _Liam_ ,” Theo said, cutting off the blabbering werewolf and saving him from embarrassing himself further. “It's _fine_.”

 

“Yeah, right, _fine_. I have a _girlfriend_. I'm not...” Liam stopped, noticing he was making it worse. He cleared his throat. “We're _fine_.”

 

Theo snorted in amusement, giving Liam a 'god-you're-crazy' look. He looked back at the stream and Liam did the same, enjoying the silence.

 

 

* * *

 

 

When the sun had started to go down, the two boys had decided it was probably a good time to go back home. They had walked in silence, not knowing what to say. The only exchange they had was to give each other their phone numbers, but afterwards, no words were shared. Thankfully, the silence was quite pleasant and they basked in the sound of the wind and their footsteps on the ground. They walked towards Liam's home and Theo decided he would escort him there, although this decision was unspoken.

 

When Liam's house came into view, he became a bit disappointed. The few hours he had spent with Theo were actually pretty enjoyable and he didn't really want it to end. They walked down Liam's driveway, no words spoken yet.

 

Liam cleared his throat, lifting a hand to wave to Theo. He turned to walk up the steps to his porch, but Theo's voice stopped him.

 

“Liam,” He said, making the boy turn back to face him. “Uh, thank you.”

 

Liam frowned. “For what?” Liam asked. He was confused, as he hadn't done anything. He didn't realize how big of a deal it was for Theo that Liam had actually spent the day with him.

 

“Just- For just being with me today,” Theo said, looking up at Liam with a thankful look in his eyes. He tugged on his sleeves nervously.

 

Liam smiled at Theo, who sent him a shy one back. Liam noticed that Theo looked younger this way and more vulnerable. Liam was glad Theo trusted him enough to see him this way.

 

Theo ducked his head down, lifting a hand to wave goodbye, as Liam had done just a few moment earlier.

 

“Bye, Theo,” Liam said softly.

 

Theo looked over his shoulder and sent Liam another genuine smile that surprised him as much as the one he had been sent earlier.

 

“Bye,” Theo replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, two updates in one day!! I'm finally glad that Theo and Liam are friends so things can start heading places (although I'm unsure where they're gonna go yet...). Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this!


	8. Chapter 8

 

Two days. Two long, excruciating days had passed where Liam did nothing but wait. He hadn't seen anyone besides his mom and stepdad, which was unsettling for Liam because he rarely even went one day without seeing one of his friends. So now, after two days, he was beyond agitated with everything. Especially himself. He had driven his friends away and now they were afraid of him and wouldn't even talk to him or even send him a simple text, which made Liam feel unsettled.

 

And now, Liam was sat on the edge of his bed, fiddling impatiently with his hands, as his leg bounced up and down. His phone sat still beside him, not making a sound. However, this didn't stop Liam from checking it every two seconds. But, _still_ , there was nothing. No calls, no texts, _nothing_. Liam let out a huff of defeat, weakly throwing his phone away from him and onto the floor. He fell back onto his bed, pulling the covers over himself. Liam didn't know what to do anymore, so he did what he had done in the last few days. Think.

 

All this time alone had forced Liam to actually think. Think about his friends, his family and... Theo. Theo was still a mystery to Liam. Even after continuously thinking about the chimera for _two whole days,_ Liam still couldn't quite understand him. There were just too many holes and unanswered questions in his knowledge about Theo. Liam couldn't put together Theo's life with blank pieces, it was just impossible.

 

Liam also had time to think about his feelings- which he didn't particularly like. He was still as confused towards his emotions as he was before. Firstly, there was his feelings towards his friends. Liam loved his friends to death, so his outburst was totally uncalled for. Mason was his best friend and he didn't deserve Liam's explosion of fury after everything Mason had done to help him. He didn't know Corey as much, but Liam had the upmost respect for him, so to have disrespected him was crazy. Liam had never felt anger, or irritation or anything bad about his friends, so to have reacted this way was very unlike him. Liam couldn't explain why he had yelled at his friends for slightly gossiping about Theo. 

 

Secondly, there was his feelings towards Hayden. His girlfriend. Liam's heart sank every time he thought about her, which probably wasn't a good sign. Liam felt like he'd been distant towards Hayden recently, which he didn't know why or when it had started. Liam hadn't done this on purpose, it kinda just happened. Now as Liam thought about her, he just felt guilty. For not being a good boyfriend, for yelling at her and well, leading her on. Liam doesn't know how this happened, when he stopped falling for her. His love just stopped growing for her, he had fallen out of love. He still loved Hayden very much, but only as a friend.

 

Thirdly, there was his feelings for Theo. Like mentioned previously, Theo made Liam feel things that confused the absolute hell out of him. He couldn't understand why he felt certain things only around Theo and no one else. There was the feeling of emptiness in Liam, that would go away when he was with Theo. There was the feeling of pure joy when he saw the chimera smile for the first time. There was the longing that Liam felt now, when he wasn't with Theo. He felt the need to be with him, which of course, disoriented Liam in every way possible. _Why did he feel this way towards Theo?_

 

Liam groaned in irritation. His mind always ended up on Theo, no matter what he thought about. It made Liam incredibly annoyed with his feelings for being _so damn perplexing_. Liam learned in the last two days that he wouldn't be able to figure out his own feelings. He had thought of everything possible- or so he thought- and he had come up with nothing but more confusion.

 

Liam's eyes found his phone from across the room. A thought passed through his head, that made him intrigued. Liam slowly made his way to retrieve his phone. He picked it up and just for a second, he stopped and stared at it. Liam pressed the home button to open the device and the home screen stared back at him, blank. This time, Liam didn't care if there was a notification of not, he was on a mission. He inserted his password and quickly clicked onto the Messages app. He hesitated for a moment, before he clicked on the desired name. 

 

Theo Raeken. 

 

Liam took a deep breath, quickly typing a message and sending it without another thought. 

 

_Hey, it's Liam. Do you want to go out for lunch tomorrow?_

 

Liam sucked in a breath, as he began to feel very anxious. He felt the need to add more to the message, to maybe explain. His mind started to nervously race with other text possibilities. However, he was pulled out of his nervous rut as a notification flashed across his screen. He opened his phone once more and was met with Theo's reply.

 

_Sure._

 

Liam was filled with relief and he sat back onto his bed, smiling down at Theo's simple response. 

 

* * *

 

 

_Hey, it's Liam. Do you want to go out for lunch tomorrow?_

 

Theo stared at the message on his phone with a disbelieving expression on his face. Liam Dunbar was asking him to go out with him? Theo quickly shook his head, dismissing the idea. Liam had already made it clear that he wasn't interested in Theo like that. Also, Liam had a girlfriend- although Theo didn't believe that excuse what the problem. 

 

Theo knew Liam wasn't really committed in his relationship with Hayden. Theo saw the way Liam distanced himself away from her and how he felt rushed into the relationship so he was pressured to make it work. 

 

Theo cleared his throat, ridding himself of thoughts on Liam and Hayden's relationship. He continued to stare at Liam's message for a few moments before he remembered he needed to reply. _What should he say?_ Theo was suddenly overcome with panic, but he immediately repressed it. _C'mon Theo_ , he told himself, _simple reply, no need to freak out about it_. 

 

With a deep breath, Theo typed in his response. 

 

_Sure._

 

Simple, easy and clear. Theo smiled in satisfaction, excited with what tomorrow would bring.

 


	9. Chapter 9

Liam paced nervously around his room, running his hands repeatedly through his hair. Oh god, what was he doing? What was he thinking, going out to lunch with Theo Raeken? Liam ran his hands over his face in frustration. 

 

Liam looked up and caught himself in the mirror that was hung up on his wall. He groaned seeing his hair sticking up in many directions, due to the excessive amount of times he had ran his hands through them. Liam tried to fix it as best he could, he didn't know the exact time Theo would get here to pick him up, so he hurried to straighten himself up. Liam took a sharp intake of air when he heard a car pull up in his driveway and soon, there was a knock on the door. 

 

Oh god, he couldn't do this. Liam passed his hand through his hair again, momentarily forgetting about how he'd just fixed it. Great, now he was officially freaking out. He couldn't answer the door, especially not now when he was freaking the hell out. 

 

This was _not_ a date... _This was not a date_ , Liam chanted, he shouldn't be freaking out about a lunch that is _not a date_.

 

Another knock sounded and Liam's heart jumped in alarm. He quickly ran downstairs to open the door, thankful that his parents were at work. Liam swung open the door and Theo stood there wondering why Liam was breathing- or more like heaving- like he'd just run a marathon. Liam scanned Theo and was glad to see- although he probably wouldn't ever admit it out loud- that Theo was wearing something other than sweatpants and was instead clad in jeans and a long sleeved shirt. Although he didn't do much with his hair but push it back a little, Liam was happy to see that Theo at least made an effort, seeing as he hadn't been feeling up to well, _anything_ in the last few weeks. 

 

"Hey, Liam," Theo greeted the werewolf, with an eyebrow raised in question at Liam's restless mood.

 

"Uh, hey," Liam replied, ignoring the look Theo was giving him. Liam decided it was best not to tell Theo about his nervousness, mostly because the chimera probably already knew from his chemo-signals and Liam didn't want to elaborate what exactly was making him nervous. 

 

Both boys walked to Theo's car, after Liam was done locking the door. There was a clear air of awkwardness around Liam, so he said nothing nor did nothing but bask in it, which in turn made Theo pretty amused. Neither of them decided to make conversation during the ride, since they had already planned everything in advance on text and they had nothing else to talk about. They both knew small talk would make things even worse, so they didn't attempt to say anything else for now. 

 

The ride was short, maybe 10 minutes, when they arrived at a small diner they had both agreed on. They walked in and sat at a booth at the back of the diner. Immediately, they both looked through the menus as a way to avoid speaking to each other. However, Theo became too distracted by Liam's anxiety and he couldn't focus on anything. 

 

"Okay, what's wrong with you?" Theo had said it so bluntly, it actually surprised Liam. The chimera was looking at him expectantly, waiting for an answer, with his arm crossed over the menu. 

 

"What? Nothing," Liam said defensively, rearing back his head in a somewhat offended manner. He put down his menu, which he hadn't been able to focus on either. 

 

"Liam, you reek of anxiety. What's wrong?" Theo asked with a gentleness Liam had never heard him use. It actually made Liam want to tell him everything, but he refrained from blurting out a bunch of mindless sentences.

 

"It's just... this," Liam gestured between each other. When he saw Theo furrow his eyebrows in confusion, he elaborated further. "It's different and weird and..."

 

"Bad?" Theo cut Liam off, not letting him finish. He uncrossed his arms and leaned back into the booth, disappointed. "Liam, if you don't want to be around me you don't have to. You could've just said so."

 

"No!" Liam shouted a little too loudly, taking Theo's hands in his and pulled him to sit up again. He lowered his voice but there was still a tone of determination. "No. I want to be around you. You're not bad, Theo. Not to me. I just meant that it's new to me. Really new and I don't really know what to do. But it doesn't mean I don't want to be with you, cause _I do_."

 

Theo stared at Liam in bewilderment. He just kept on surprising him, time after time. Liam had looked and sounded so genuine and sure about his mini rant and it made Theo just... happy. Happier than he'd been in a long time. It was a relief to hear that Liam actually wanted to spend more time with him and that he actually enjoyed Theo's company. 

 

There was nothing Theo could say to express what he was feeling, so he sent Liam a small smile and squeezed his hands. The werewolf could tell by Theo's chemo-signals that he was really grateful for Liam's small speech. Once again, he was glad to see Theo look and feel better. Liam sent Theo a big grin, which made the chimera lower his head somewhat shyly, which was something Liam thought he would never see. 

 

* * *

 

 

"I can't believe that waitress thought we were a couple," Liam mumbled, snorting at the thought.

 

"Liam, we were holding hands," Theo laughed, "And you didn't even deny it. You just gaped at her for like two whole minutes!"

 

"You didn't either! You even told her we _were_ a couple," Liam snorted, a half smile on his face.

 

"I've never seen you stammer so much! It was hilarious."

 

Liam huffed out a laugh, shaking his head as Theo sent him a smirk. After their lunch, they had decided to have ice cream in the park. They now sat on a bench, eating. Liam took a spoonful of his ice cream, humming in delight. He licked his bottom lip, where some stray ice cream had fallen. He turned to look at Theo, who had fallen silent and saw him looking down at his lips. Liam frowned as Theo cleared his throat and looked away, forcing a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth.

 

Liam looked down at his feet, thinking. Today had actually been a good day. He and Theo got along surprisingly well and they had a pretty fun time together. Liam really did want to get to know Theo and spend more time with him. Theo understood Liam and all Liam wanted to do was understand Theo too. He wanted to know about Theo's life, what he'd been through. Liam wanted to be there for Theo because he knew no one else would be. 

 

"Theo... You know you can talk to me right? About anything?" Liam said with such genuineity that Theo felt overwhelmed.

 

But he couldn't. Theo didn't know why, but an answer, the truth, _nothing_ would come out. There was nothing he could do but just sit and breathe, at least for a few minutes. Liam seemed to understand that and said nothing, just waited for Theo.

 

"I- I," Was all he said before he started shaking his head, frustrated at the stuttering. "Not right now. Not here." Theo said decidely. 

 

Liam understands, he won't try to pry open Theo's past, he knew it was a delicate thing to talk about. So, Liam just nodded.

 

"This is going to sound super cliche, but... I had fun today," Liam said, changing the subject and casting a smile at Theo. "And it's not like hanging out with Mason and Corey. This is different and I like it."

 

Theo smirked at Liam. "I like it too." 

 

Liam groaned, throwing his head back as he tried not to laugh at the cliche that was thrown back at him. 

 

"You're an asshole."

 

"You say that like its a bad thing." Theo said, smirking. "Is that all you've got?"

 

Liam groaned, putting his face in his hands. 

 

"You know, this is your fault, you made me like this," Theo said. 

 

"Theo, stop," Liam said, a smile of amusement on his lips.

 

"You know," Theo said, resting an arm on the back of the bench. "We're not so different, you and I." 

 

"Theo!" Liam exclaimed as Theo started laughing. 

 

Liam couldn't help himself and started laughing too. 

 

Despite all the stupid cliche dialogue Theo had just thrown at him, Liam was happy. He felt absolutely liberated with Theo, to say and do whatever he wanted. 

 

Liam felt free.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to update, but turns out, I got super busy last minute and then school started so I haven't had much time to work on this. But I'll try!


End file.
